Artificial horizon for ships or the like.



W. HINZ.

ARTIFICIAL HORIZON FOR SHIPS 011mm LIKE.

Patented Feb. 6, 1912.

APPLICATION FILED APR.1, 1911.

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WILHELM HINZ, 0F ANTWER-P, BELGIUM.

. ARTIFICIAL HORIZON FOR SHIPS OR THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 1, 1911. Serial No. 618,374.

To all whom it may conccmi Be it known that l, WILHELM Hmz, a subject ofthe German Emperor, residing at Antwerp, in the Province of Antwerp,Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ArtificialHorizons for Ships or the Like, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to, an artificial horizon for ships or thelike consisting of a gimhal-mountcd mirror and provided with a pendulumwhich oscillates in a similarly mounted liquid containing receptacle.With hitherto used constructions of this kind, the above namedgimbal-systems have been arranged concentrically relative to oneanother, so that the oscillations of the mirror and. the receptacle varyaccording to size, direction, time and position of the orbit ofoscillation. in consequence thereof, the; of itself advantageousgimbal-suspension of the liquid receptacle has been avoided in the oldconstructions and the receptacle is suspended in its center of gravityor at a point very close to it.

According to the present invention, the two gimbal-systems are arrangedconcentrically to and on the same level with one another, and thecenters of gravity of both these systems are made to as nearly aspossilole coincide with one another. Hereby both gimbal-systems arecaused to always execute precisely the same oscillations at anyvibration of the ship, so that a disturbance of the mirror owing to theoscillations of the liquid receptacle does not take place, and onlysmall differences of oscillation have to be corrected by the liquiddampening. The mirror of the new horizon thus adjusts itselfhorizontally very quietly and easily and damaging effects of friction in,the bearings are avoided to the greatest extent,

My invention also has for its object to prevent rapid wearing ofi andbending of the points of support, and displacement of the center ofgravity.

Another object of my invention is to prevent too vehement movements ofthe liquid during the oscillation of its receptacle.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts as here inai'terfullyspecified.

In the accompanying drawing, in which similar reference letters denotecorresponding parts, Figure l is a vertical section oil my instrumentand Fig. 2 is a plan viewthereof.

In the drawing, which forms a part of this specification, a denotes themirror servmg as art ficial horizon. This mirror rests Patented Feb. e,leis, I

edges or pivots e, which ring in its turn is rotatively mounted in thestationary sup port by means of knife edges. or pivots 9 arranged at aright angle relative to the pivots e, so that the whole forms agimbalsupport for the mirror.

The pendulum c, d oscillates in a receptacle it, which contains aliquid, as viscid oil, glycerin,'or the like, and is provided withdampening wings 2', adapted to check the oscillations of the pendulum.Of course, instead of such wings any other checking or braking means maybe provided. The receptacle 7 is reduced in size in upward direction,whereby vehement vibrations of the liquid surface will be as much aspossible avoided. The upper part is of the receptacle is removable toallow=of the insertion of the weight 0!. The receptacle 7:. isrotatively mounted in a ring on hymeans (if pivots Z or the like, whichring m in its turn is rotatively mounted in a ring 0 by means of pivots12, arranged at a right angle to the pivots Z, so that the receptacle,too, is gimbal-Inounted in bearings arranged outside of the verticalcentral axis A-B. The gimbalsupport of the mirror and that of thereceptacle are located on the same level. Since on the other hand thecenter of gravity S of the mirror system and that of the receptaclesystem are calculated to coincide or nearly coincide, the path and timeof the oscillations of the mirror and those oil the receptaole duringthe rolling and pitching of the ship will be uniform or nearly so, sothat but verysmall differences in the oscillations will have to beadjusted by the liquid dampening. The ring 0 is provided with a supportp, but may be supported in any other suitable manner. F

Surrounding the mirror is a metal ring 1" serving as a wind guard andwhich may be removed when observing low star altitudes. The mirror 0; isnot rigid within the frame 6; moreover, there -is an annular space aprovided around the mirror in which four plate springs t are arranged,whereby damaging effects owin to change of temperature are avoided. nthe other hand, on the bottom of the frame 6 are set screws u withcounter nuts v, whereby on land or on board during very quiet Weather,the mirror can be adjusted precisely in horizontal position.

By means of the plate springs and set screws n, the mirror may beadjusted Without requiring the disconnection of any parts.

l/Vhen the instrument is not used, it may,

like a chronometer in Well known manner, be hung and fixed in a box.

- What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An artificial horizon, comprising a gimbal-mounted mirror formed witha pendulum and a gimbal-mounted liquid receptacle in which said pendulumoscillates, so

